Back in the day you couldn't swing a dead cat in a video game store without knocking some RPG's off the shelves. Whether it was anime-styled JRPG's or Dungeons & Dragon's inspired CRPG's, finding a solid role-playing game was an incredibly easy task. For whatever reason, developers ardour to produce these types of games seemed to taper off with the arrival of the Xbox 360 and PS3 and it became a lot harder for RPG fans to get their fix. But now in 2013, there seems to be a bit of a mini revival, thanks perhaps in part to the Kickstarter effect. Whatever the reason, if you've a hankering to go on a epic quest to battle an ancient evil, 2013 is your year.

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch PS3

If you love the animated masterpieces from Japan's Studio Ghilbi, then Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is a must purchase for you. Ni no Kuni is the story of Oliver, a normal little boy who is pulled into a fantasy world who embarks on a quest that may just save the life of his mother. With that small, personal motivation, Ni no Kuni quickly evolves into a classic JRPG of epic proportions. Combing the creative efforts of developers Level-5 and legendary animation house, Studio Ghibli, Ni no Kuni is a potential game of the year winner. The game has already seen an international release and it isn't hurting that it's already receiving steller reviews.

Project Eternity PC

Baldur's Gate I & II, Icewind Dale and Planescape: Torment remain some of the best role playing games ever made. Even compared to games released in the last five years, those titles are as good as or even better. So it's sad that the top-down isometric style roleplayer fell out of fashion when the transition to 3D graphics came along. But now thanks to Kickstarter, the classic CPRG is making a return and hopefully Project Eternity will be but the first of many.

South Park: Stick of Truth Multi

Combine the game development skills of Obsidian, with the story telling prowess of the South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker and you poop out South Park: Stick of Truth. This game could very well be terrible, as licensed games are wont to be, but just the idea of it is so tantalising to me, I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. There is a problem though. With original publisher THQ having dissolved, South Park is now a Ubisoft property. Hopefully that transition won't negatively affect the game's developement.

Dark Souls II Multi

I think it's fair to say that at this point Namco Bandai's Soul games have successfully detached themselves from the 'niche cult' label. I mean really, once you surpass 1 000 000 units sold, you've officially moved into mainstream territory. So no one should be surprised then that there's a sequel coming and given the track record so far, no one should be surprised when it's difficult as all hell.

Dragon Age III: Inquisition Multi Despite the fact the first two Dragon Age games split the franchise's audience between them, you would be hard-pressed to find someone that outright hated both. With this third shot at bat, can Dragon Age unite the fans of parts one and two and offer the best CRPG of this generation? I'm inclined to say they can.

The Magical Realms of Tír na nÓg: Escape from Necron 7 - Revenge of Cuchulainn: The Official Game of the Movie - Chapter 2 of the Hoopz Barkley SaGa PC

I've mentioned the prequel to this game twice before on GameZone thanks to its insane premise of playing as legendary basketball player Charles Barkley living in a post-apocalyptic world of his own making. That is to say that Charles Barkley dunked a basketball so hard that it destroyed the world. Yes really. As out there as it was, Chapter 1 of the Hoopz Barkley SaGa was a pretty engrossing JRPG and there's no reason to think this one won't be as intriguing. Plus, I really just wanted to put that title in the list.